


Rebirth

by Metonic_Cycle



Category: Archie Sonic Online, Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comic), Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Comics), Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Dimensions, And bad things happen because of them, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Attempt at Humor, Consequences, Dimension Travel, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Fantasy, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Pretty much everyone is making questionable choices at this point, Romance, Science Fiction, Shardonic, Sonic makes some really bad choices here, Trauma, consequences of actions, metonic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27456754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metonic_Cycle/pseuds/Metonic_Cycle
Summary: Sure enough, Sonic stopped as soon as he reached a man-hole. He kneeled down and pushed the lid on top of it aside, and only seconds later, the hedgehog was diving inside. Shard groaned again, this time out loud.This was going to make everything alotharder.“Agent Ace,” Shard spoke up after activating his comm, “this is Sign Jack. We’ve got a bit of a problem here…”“What?” Silver’s voice was crackling with static- no doubt the underground generator was responsible. “Jack, I can’t hear-wooosh- the comms aren’t worki-woooooosh-” The comm dissolved entirely into static.“Ace? Ace?? You copy?”No answer.“Oh, this is gonna berealfun,” Shard muttered sarcastically.
Relationships: Shard the Metal Sonic/Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Sunset Heights

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna be taking a break from "Phase Two" for a while, and I'll be working on this fic instead. I'm not really happy with "Phase Two" at the moment, so I figured I'd try to work on something that I can hopefully be relatively happy with. Thos fic was originally supposed to be the prequel to "Phase Two", but I didn't really want to have constraints on what I could do with this story, so this fic is going to take place in a separate timeline instead.
> 
> Anyways, constructive criticism is always appreciated- FLAMES are NOT.

Crouching low on top of a nearby rooftop, Shard groaned internally as his optics locked onto none other than Sonic the Hedgehog, the blue hedgehog zipping his way through the ruins of the city of Sunset Heights. The Mobian must’ve caught wind of the super-powered generator Dr. Eggman had hidden somewhere in the sewers below.

Sure enough, Sonic stopped as soon as he reached a man-hole. He kneeled down and pushed the lid on top of it aside, and only seconds later, the hedgehog was diving inside. Shard groaned again, this time out loud.

This was going to make everything a _lot_ harder.

“Agent Ace,” Shard spoke up after activating his comm, “this is Sign Jack. We’ve got a bit of a problem here…”

“What?” Silver’s voice was crackling with static- no doubt the underground generator was responsible. “Jack, I can’t hear- _wooosh-_ the comms aren’t worki- _woooooosh-”_ The comm dissolved entirely into static.

“Ace? Ace?? You copy?”

No answer.

“Oh, this is gonna be _real_ fun,” Shard muttered sarcastically. He hurtled over the side of the building, dropping down onto the street below with a _clank._ He sighed, taking in the destroyed city around him. Although it had been destroyed long before he’d been built by Robotnik, the former badnik couldn’t help but feel guilty. He didn’t need to search his records to know what happened to the people who used to live here. The bot turned away from the crumbling coffee shop he’d been staring at and approached the man-hole Sonic had jumped through just a few minutes earlier.

Shard dropped down into the depths below, wincing when the thud of his landing echoed throughout the sewer… corridor, or whatever they called these things. At least he didn’t land in the water. That would _definitely_ have made a lot more noise.

He tiptoed as quietly as he could, following the skid marks Sonic’s shoes had left behind. Shard slowed his pursuit as he heard voices echoing from somewhere around the next corner. He strained his audio receptors, trying to capture the words being spoken.

“Yo, Eggman! What’s the rush? Dontcha wanna sic your toys on me or something?”

Shard shook his head, smirking in amusement. Even after all these years, Sonic still had that breezy, snarky attitude of his. He then frowned as he thought of everything the hedgehog had been through of late- while Shard hadn’t been there to see all that transpired for Sonic, he’d heard the rumours, read the reports, and even heard some of Silver’s concerns over the matter.

Just how long would Sonic be able to keep this up?

Shard shook his head again, the frown disappearing from his face as he narrowed his optics in determination. He needed to focus. He had a job to do. Download whatever files were stored on that generator and then activate its self-destruct system. It was an in-and-out job. Nothing more, nothing less.

So the robot resumed his approach, and cautiously peeked around the corner while charging up his cannon. And there was Sonic, his back turned to him and arms crossed as he glared up at Eggman.

The doctor himself was seated in his ugly, tasteless Egg Mobile, laughing maniacally. Behind the overweight scientist was the generator. It was massive, to say the least- the giant gears on its front slowly turned counter-clockwise, and on its side, six pumps three times Shard’s and Sonic’s heights combined thumped in a steady, calculated manner- all in perfect sync with one another. And on the top of this generator sat a large hour-glass shaped capsule with an optimal view of what lay inside- a swirling mass of midnight blue-coloured energy. The temperature in the sewer felt as if it were quickly dropping.

Shard checked his temperature gauge and realised that indeed was the case.

“Oh, Sonic, Sonic,” Eggman chided, glaring right back at the Mobian in question with a mad smile on his face. “It’s about time you showed up- I was beginning to think you’d never come.”

“Cut it out, egg for brains, and tell me what’s going on,” Sonic shot back, “or I’ll take out this silly machine of yours.” He pointed at the generator for reference.

Shard couldn’t allow Sonic to destroy that generator- he needed to get the files first. But there was no way he could reach it without being seen. “So sorry to cut your party short, Sonic,” the former badnik murmured, “but I need those files.” He revved his turbine and rocketed forward, his fist striking Sonic directly in the back. The hedgehog yelped and was sent flying onto the floor. Shard whipped his arm cannon to the side, aiming at Eggman’s Egg Mobile, and fired.

“WHAT IN THE- ARRRGH!!” The Egg Mobile was sent flying across the room, and it crashed violently into the wall a few metres away. Shard ignored the villain’s angry shrieking and instead focused on the generator. A small cord popped out of his cannon’s muzzle and plugged itself into the generator’s interface.

“C’mon, c’mon…” Shard didn’t have a lot of time- he could already hear Sonic getting to his feet.

“No _way…”_

Shard turned his head and saw the Mobian staring at him in utter shock. The robot offered him a tiny smile. “Long time no see, Sonic.”

“You just don’t know how to stay dead, do you?”

Shard frowned. “Look, I’m not here to fight you- I just need to download these files and then activate this thing’s self-destruct-”

_“METAL SONIC!?!”_

Shard growled, and whipped his head to the side to glare at Eggman. “First off- my name is _Shard_ now, thank you so very much for asking,” the former badnik snarled, venom dripping from his voice. “Secondly, before you go and try barkin’ orders at me, I’ll have you know that we’re past that. You. _Don’t._ Own. _Me.”_

Eggman just laughed, much to both hedgehogs’ confusion and concern. The way the doctor was laughing… there was something wrong. Something _very_ wrong. _Oh no._ Shard disconnected from the generator, the cord retracting back into his cannon. “SONIC- _RUN!!”_

“You don’t need to tell me twice!”

Shard’s turbine hummed to life, and he raced after Sonic as the Mobian peeled out of there as fast as he could. A loud _boom_ tore through the sewers, and a much louder roaring replaced it seconds later.

And it was catching up to them.

Shard whipped his head over his shoulder, and saw that a wave of the dark blue energy that had apparently been trapped inside the generator was now free, and not very far behind them. The temperature continued to drop further and further. He turned his head and focused his optics on the path ahead. If his calculations were correct, both he and Sonic would be able to reach the man-hole they came through before the wave could engulf them. But just barely.

And then Sonic slipped on a puddle. _“Whooaa!”_ The Mobian was sent crashing into a wall, and he slumped to the floor.

He wasn’t moving.

Shard quickly dropped to floor, metal feet _clanking_ against the concrete. He rushed over to the hedgehog’s still body, knowing full well that he should be still flying towards the man-hole. But he couldn’t just leave Sonic behind.

Shard grabbed Sonic’s shoulder and pulled him upright. He tugged, trying to secure the hedgehog in his arms as quickly as possible. There wasn’t a second to lose. But by that point it was already too late. The wave had caught up to the duo, and was washing over them, the energy swirling around violently. Shard shivered as the temperature went from chilly to ice cold. His optical screen glitched, and he found it becoming harder to feel the rest of his body.

“I need to- get-” Shard slumped to the floor, his grip on Sonic loosening slightly. There was no way he was getting out of this one as he felt all his systems shutting down, one by one.

And then everything went completely black.

* * *

_< Processing… assessing damage… external damage appears to be minimal. Internal damage also appears to be minimal. Running diagnostics on primary and secondary systems…>__

_< Heavy damage to both primary and secondary systems. Rerouting energy from Power Gem to repair…>__

_< All systems repaired. All systems functioning at 89% efficiency. Initiating startup of unit # 0001…>__

Errors splashed across Shard’s optical screen at incalculable speeds before finally condensing into two green pupils. The first thing he registered was that he was lying front first on a cold tile floor, his head turned to the side in a somewhat uncomfortable position. The second thing he registered was that he was clearly no longer in the sewer, if the floor and the giant marble columns several feet away were anything to go by.

“Ssss-sss-” His voice chip crackled threateningly. “Ssss- Sooonnnni… Sonic??”

A pained groan emanated from beside the robot. Shard pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, and turned his head. About a foot away lay Sonic himself, who seemed to be regaining consciousness now. The Mobian’s eyes fluttered open, and he groaned again. “Wha… what happened… where am… I…?” He closed his eyes and sat up, putting a hand on his forehead.

“Sonic- are you okay?”

Sonic’s eyes snapped back open, and his gaze locked onto Shard.

The former badnik knew that look only too well. “Uh oh. Uhh… I think I’m gonna take a rain check and just-”

“YOU!!” Sonic lunged at Shard, shoving the robot back onto the floor and falling on top of him in the process. The hedgehog didn’t seem fazed by this, and grabbed Shard’s arms to pin them down. “What did you _do?!”_

“Geez, I try to _save_ your _life_ , and this is the _thanks_ I get?!?” Shard kicked Sonic in the stomach, sending the Mobian flying off of him. A second later, and the bot was up and crouched in a battle stance, green eyes quickly morphing into red. “Look, I don’t have _time_ for this- I wasn’t able to finish my mission, so I’m in deep enough hot water as it is! I don’t need you _adding_ onto it!”

Sonic, who was lying on his back on the floor, growled and flipped back onto his feet. “Your ‘mission?’” He sneered. “Care to explain what that mission of yours is- or _was_ \- exactly?? Because the last time you and I met, you tried to _kill_ both me and _Tails!!”_

“I also risked my own life to save you two afterwards!!” Shard snapped back harshly, anger now coursing through his circuitry. “I get that it’s a hard thing for you to believe that _I_ might have a change of heart-”

“Yeah, you got that right.” Sonic crossed his arms and scowled.

“But at the moment, I’m pretty sure neither of us even knows where we are right now!” Shard gestured wildly around the room, which appeared to be the courtyard of some sort of palace. “Or at least _I_ don’t!” The former badnik paused, his optics flattening into slits for a moment as he tried to calm himself down. His pupils then opened back up and he continued, “Look. I know you don’t trust me, and I don’t blame you. But us trying to kill each other isn’t going to give us any answers.”

“So you… what? You want to work _together??”_

Shard nodded. “Yup, pretty much. And once we get back to Sunset Heights and see exactly what happened with that generator- if it’s even still there anymore _\- then_ we can settle this… _thing_ between us. Hedgehog to hedgehog.”

Sonic considered this for a moment, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Okay. Fine. A temporary truce sounds good. Just remember- if you try anything funny, I won’t hesitate to send you back to the scrap heap.”

“Dually noted,” Shard replied dryly.

This day just kept getting better and better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if Sonic's OOC, I just don't want him to become too friendly with Shard just yet. I want to try and develop their relationship as naturally and as realistically as I can, and it only makes sense to me for Sonic to be at least somewhat antagonistic towards him.


	2. Zone

Shard and Sonic steadily made their way through the empty palace, so far not seeing heads or tails of anyone. The palace seemed to have been abandoned recently- there wasn’t much dust in the halls, and none of it appeared to be in disrepair. There were no signs of a battle or anything of the like either.

Which only made the situation all the more unnerving. 

“Where the heck is everyone??” Sonic asked no one in particular, throwing up his hands in frustration. “It’s like whoever used to live here just up and left!”

Shard heard him, but didn’t respond- instead slowly taking in the corridor they were currently standing in. The velvet carpet running along the wooden floor was black with blood-red seams of silk on its edges. The floor itself, which could barely be seen due to said carpet covering it, was made from a light coloured wood. The walls were a pale marble, and the furniture was ornate in nature. Glyphs from a language Shard didn’t recognise were carved into the the walls and ceiling.

Finally, Shard focused his attention on the windows installed in the wall to his left. He stepped closer to the nearest one, peering through the glass. “Uhh, Sonic?? You might wanna take a look at this.”

“Hmm? What’s up?” Sonic walked over to where the former badnik was and looked out the window. “Whoa…” The blue hedgehog blinked as he took in the sight before him. Sand dunes rolled out from the palace in an endless expanse, stretching out to the darkening blue horizon. “Not a bad view… kinda reminds me of the Sandopolis Desert on Angel Island. But with less Sand Crawlers.”

“Less or none?”

“Ehh, take your pick.” Sonic moved away from the window and started heading down the hall. Shard, after staring through the glass barrier a moment longer, finally followed after him. The two hedgehogs quickly reached a large, wooden door at the end of the hall.

Sonic settled his hand on the door’s metal handle and turned it. The door slowly creaked open, revealing the room on the other side. Unlike the rest of the palace, it was decidedly unremarkable. The floor was made of wood, like the hallway’s was, but it wasn’t covered by a carpet. The walls were shiny marble, but didn’t have any runes carved into them. Really, the only interesting thing about this room were the large mirrors that leaned against each wall. The mirrors were relatively simple in their design, but still had some intricate detail to them.

“I’m not detecting any traps,” Shard said, his voice low. He stepped into the room first to prove it, since he knew full well that Sonic didn’t trust him. Sonic followed after him with some hesitation.

“A room of mirrors,” Sonic muttered. “Totally not creepy at all.” The Mobian approached the nearest mirror and posed in front of it, watching his own reflection. The mirror’s surface suddenly rippled out from the centre, much like how a pond would ripple when a rock is dropped into it. “The _heck-?!”_ Sonic stumbled backwards in astonishment, colliding with Shard in the process.

“Hey, _watch it,_ hedgehog!” Shard whipped around to glare at the culprit, only for his optics to lock onto the mirror’s rippling layer of glass. “… that’s definitely _not_ something you see every day.”

The rippling finally ceased, clearing up the image now being displayed on the mirror’s surface. It appeared to be a small town with stone buildings, surrounded by palm trees and patches of grass and sand. The sky, which could barely be seen in the background, appeared to be lighter, indicating that this location was likely in another time zone. Sonic stepped closer to the mirror and reached out to touch it.

Shard protested.

“Sonic, we don’t know what that thing is- what if it, I don’t know- tries to _eat_ you?”

Sonic turned his head and regarded the former badnik with a raised eyebrow. “We’re not gonna figure anything out if we just _stand_ here. And we’ve searched every inch of this castle-”

“Palace,” Shard corrected. 

“What’s the difference?” Sonic didn’t wait for an answer. “There’s really not much else we can do here, and I kinda don’t want to know what might be out in that desert. Besides, if this really is a gateway to another location, then that might be where the people who used to live here might’ve gone. You wanna stay here all by yourself? Fine by me. But I’m not sticking around.”

“Fine, you _win.”_ Shard stepped closer to the mirror and now stood next to Sonic. “Age before beauty.”

“Are you calling me old?” Sonic asked. The hedgehog covered his mouth as he snorted with laughter. That… had really been unexpected.

“Yes.”

Sonic regained control of himself, and just shook his head. He looked back towards the mirror, steadying himself. And then he stepped through the semi-liquid surface. Sonic shivered- the strange substance was ridiculously cold. He hated the cold. The Mobian popped through the other side, flopping into the tropical sand rather ungracefully.

Shard followed only seconds later and crashed into the sand next to him. “C-c-c-cooooollllldddddd…”

If Sonic had any doubts earlier that robots could feel discomfort, then this thoroughly crushed them. “You alright there, Shard?”

“N-nev-never better!” came the answer.

Sonic knew it was a lie. He got back onto his feet and then reached down to grab Shard’s arm. Slowly but steadily, he pulled the shivering robot upright. A few seconds later, and Shard was back on his feet. “Careful there, tough guy,” Sonic said gently. “If it makes you feel any better, I got pretty cold in there too.”

Shard tilted his head to look up at Sonic. He realised with some embarrassment that the hedgehog was slightly taller than him. Cursed Mobian growth spurts. The former badnik decided _not_ to address _this_ for the time being, and instead snarked in a light tone, “Aww, I didn’t you _cared_ , Sonic.”

Sonic let go of Shard’s arm and stepped away from him. “Well, you’re my only ally at the moment, and you know what they say- two heads are better than one.”

Shard scowled slightly at the response. “Whatever.” His optics flicked to the town several metres away. “Guess we should head over to that town and see if there’s anyone there who knows where we are, huh?”

Sonic nodded, and without another word, he started walking towards the village. Shard followed, powering up his cannon should they encounter anything or anyone _not_ friendly. They quickly reached the edge of the town, and could clearly see it was bustling with Mobians, with the occasional Overlander here and there. Some of the townsfolk stared at them oddly (most likely due to Shard’s presence) but strangely enough, they didn’t comment. It wasn’t long before Sonic and Shard reached what appeared to be the town square. Brick pathways led from the city streets to the massive fountain in the centre of the square. The fountain itself was made from some sort of gold-like material, and instead of spraying water, it sprayed a bright purple liquid from its spouts. Shard’s sensors were unable to identify the substance.

“There!” someone several metres away, somewhere in the crowd, shouted. “There’s the blue demon hedgehog!”

“Uhh- what?” Sonic whipped his head to find the source was apparently a Mobian echidna wrapped up in a heavy black cloak. Several other Mobians of different species stood on either side of the echidna, also wearing similar cloaks.

Shard grabbed Sonic’s arm and whispered to the hedgehog, “I think we should probably run.”

As the former badnik spoke, the Mobian echidna tore a small laser pistol out from the sleeve of their robe and pointed it directly at Sonic. There was no doubt now.

“I think we can agree on that. Hang on tight!”

“Huh, wha- _yipe!!”_

Before Shard could finish his query, Sonic had already taken off, with the robot digging the fingers of his hand hard into the Mobian’s fleshy arm. Shard’s audio receptors indicated that the echidna’s weapon had discharged at the same moment that Sonic had peeled out- not that it even mattered, since it didn’t hit either hedgehog. The robot’s turbine roared loudly to life- he knew he’d just slow Sonic down if he just let him practically drag him through the town.

The duo raced up the side of a stone building, charged across the roof, and- thanks to both their speed- they were able to boost off the side and back outside the village. Sonic made the smart decision and kept running, Shard keeping up as best he could _without_ having repeat of the last time he’d pushed his turbine really hard. Once they were what appeared to be a safe distance from the village- and deep within the jungle surrounding it- Sonic stopped on a dime. Shard was forced to deactivate his turbine entirely so he wouldn’t shoot past the Mobian, and he almost crashed into a tree in the process. The former badnik landed on the ground feet first, and- after taking a moment to steady himself- he turned his attention to Sonic. The hedgehog was standing bent-over, hands on his legs as he panted heavily from exhaustion.

“Any idea what _that_ was all about?” Shard asked, leaning his back against a tree as he watched Sonic quickly regaining his breath.

“Not a clue,” Sonic answered after a moment. The hedgehog straightened his stance, rubbing his brow. “I’d have said they were after you, but they looked kinda like Dark Legionnaires, and anyway, they did say a _‘blue_ demon hedgehog’- so they had to have been talking about me.”

“Hmm, I guess you’re not as dumb as you look,” Shard remarked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

Shard ignored Sonic’s annoyed outburst and continued, “Their robes, according to my database, do line up with the typical Dark Legion wardrobe. So yeah, that would explain why they tried to kill you.”

“They did a pretty lousy job, though,” Sonic declared, now smirking. “They must be pretty stupid to think a puny little laser gun can take _me_ out!”

“And that’s kinda what’s bothering me now.”

“What? Whaddya mean??” Sonic frowned, his eyebrow now twitching upwards skeptically.

“Well, you’d think that if they really knew what you’re capable of, they’d have at least called in reinforcements and waited before drawing attention to themselves,” Shard explained. “This means one of three things: one- they wanted to try to kill you themselves so they could impress their superiours. Two- they didn’t have very much knowledge about your or your abilities, which I don’t think is very likely since pretty much everyone knows who you are and what you can do. Three… three- we might not be in our own Zone anymore.”

“Of course,” Sonic muttered. “Can’t go one day without being pulled into another universe, can I?? If that’s the case, I’m surprised good ol’ _Zonic_ hasn’t shown his face yet. Guess this is one of those times where we’re still here because we’re ‘needed.’”

Shard stared at him blankly, blinking once as he processed this information. “Sooo… what, you think we were like, _destined_ to come here or something? Don’t tell me you actually _believe_ in that kind of stuff!”

“With everything that’s happened over the past few years,” Sonic said, “it’s kinda hard _not_ to. But… if we really are in another Zone, and if Zonic’s not here, then that means we’re needed here for some reason.” A smile spread across the Mobian’s muzzle. “And you wanna know what that means?”

“…” Shard tried to decide if he _really_ wanted to know or not.

Sonic made the decision for him. “Get ready for some action, Metalhead- cause it’s time for us to save the world!”

Shard internally groaned upon receiving this information. _The director is_ so _gonna turn me into scrap when we get home._

* * *

“I’m gonna _die_ today, and it’s gonna be because I’m working with my _copy_ , who happens to have as much of an overinflated _ego_ as me!” Shard muttered to himself as he crouched low in the bushes, watching the very town they’d previously escaped from earlier that day.

“I’m sorry- _your_ _‘_ copy?’” Shard jumped, letting out a startled beep as he whipped around to see Sonic crouching next to him with a look of amusement on his face. “I think you have it the _wrong_ way round here, pal.”

“Shut up, hedgehog,” Shard shot back, lowering himself back down into a crouch next to the Mobian and settling his gaze back on the village. He felt his gears whirring faster than normal, and his processor began to speed up its processing of code. How Sonic even managed to sneak up on him like that was beyond the robot’s comprehension.

“What’re those lines on your face?”

Shard looked at Sonic again. “What lines?”

“Those green lines under your eyes,” Sonic explained. “It… it almost looks like…” The hedgehog smirked, chuckling as he realised exactly what had happened.

“Like what?” Shard pressed. The glow of the lime-green ‘lines’ in his optical screen Sonic spoke of intensified, thought the former badnik didn’t seem to notice. “It almost looks like _what??”_

“That’s for me to know,” Sonic replied, his smirk widening, “and for you to find out.”

“You’re _impossible,_ and I _hate_ you.”

“And the feeling’s _mutual,_ Metalhead.” Sonic turned his attention back to the town. “Okay, so here’s my plan- we’ll see if we can knock out and capture one of those Dark Legionnaires in the town. And when they wake up, we’ll try to get some answers from them. Since these guys clearly don’t know how to take out a hedgehog right, it should be really easy to get our hands on one of them.”

Shard tapped his chin in thought as he processed Sonic’s words. “That’s… actually a pretty good plan. I like it.”

“Great! Go on three?”

Shard smirked at Sonic and gave a nod. “On three. And I’ll prove to you that _I’m_ the superiour hedgehog here!”

Sonic snorted. “Y’know, I wasn’t planning on this turning into a competition, buuut, when you put it _that_ way…” His smirk grew even bigger. “For old time’s sake.”

“For old time’s sake.” Shard held out his hand to Sonic. After a moment, the Mobian settled his palm onto that of the former badnik’s and they shook on it.

“May the best hedgehog win!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make it so Shard shares some more similarities with his game counterpart (Metal Sonic) and have him think of Sonic as his copy too (but obviously not to the point of wanting to blow his head off). Also yes, they absolutely _have_ to turn _everything_ into a competition. That's just how these bois roll. <3


	3. Shattered

If there was one thing Gold the Tenrec knew she was _never_ going to live down, it was that she woke up to find herself tied to a chair in what appeared to be an abandoned, musty old warehouse, having been captured two hedgehogs- one was a Mobian, and the other looked like a heavily modified Robian. Granted, they were difficult to try and fend off in the first place, but still, for someone of _her_ skillset…

It was a tad humiliating, to say the least.

“You alright there?” the blue Mobian asked, an expression of concern on his face. The robot just watched her in silence, a wary look in his optics. “You put up a pretty good fight, I’ll give ya that,” the Mobian hedgehog continued.

“So what is this? Good cop, bad cop??” Gold sneered. “Do your worst. I’m not telling you _anything.”_

“We- we don’t wanna hurt you, we just want to talk.” While the hedgehog spoke, Gold reached out across the spiritual realm, connecting her mind with the Mobian’s. She made sure to mask her presence so he wouldn’t notice, and she began sifting through his mind in an attempt to learn his true objective.

Gold remained unresponsive to the hedgehog’s words, and that was when the Robian spoke for the first time. “We may want to talk, but it doesn’t look like she does.”

“I guess that’s what happens when you tie up somebody in an abandoned warehouse while they’re unconscious,” the Mobian hedgehog muttered.

“Well, what did you expect me to do?! She’d have probably tried to kill us as soon as she woke up!”

“What’s done is done.” The Mobian hedgehog sighed tiredly, and he locked eyes with Gold once more. “Look, if I untie you… do you promise to answer a few questions?”

Gold processed what information she could gather from the Mobian’s mind, as well as his behaviour from the moment she woke up. His name was apparently Sonic the Hedgehog, and he was the hero of a planet called “Mobius.” He also matched the physical description of the ‘demon hedgehog’ who would one day come from another dimension to shatter their world, releasing an evil that he would then use to take control of the planet _._ And yet, Sonic’s personality was a complete polar opposite to that of the description provided in the ancient texts of the Dark Brotherhood.

Finally Gold answered, “Fine.”

Sonic carefully began to undo the ropes. His Robian companion- technically _badnik_ , according to the hedgehog’s mind- Shard kept watching her cautiously. The ropes were finally removed, and Gold stayed where she sat. Sonic set the ropes down on the floor and took a step back from her. “So first things first- who are you, and who do you work for?”

“As in to whom do I express my allegiance to?” Gold queried. “I serve the Dark Legion, the one _true_ successor to the Dark Brotherhood. As to my identity… you may call me Gold. And you are?”

“Sonic the Hedgehog,” Sonic answered. “And this is Shard.” He gestured to the robot in question for reference. “Next question,” the Mobian hedgehog went on. “Why exactly did your buddies try to shoot me? I’m guessing it’s not because of Eggman, since I’ve _never_ heard of the ‘Dark Brotherhood’ until today. Which means that this probably _isn’t_ my world.”

“I gathered that,” Gold replied. Before Sonic or Shard could respond, she continued, “I am a… telepath of sorts. I apologise for my intrusion of your mind, Sonic, but it was necessary in order for me to determine whether or not you’re a threat. And… you’re not. That troubles me.”

“Why does that trouble you?” Sonic asked carefully, now a bit on edge, Gold noticed. And with good reason. She penetrated his mind without him knowing, which undoubtedly made him uncomfortable. To put it lightly.

“Because this means that you’re not who the prophecy made you out to be,” Gold explained, “and that means that… the prophecy… I don’t know.” She sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her brow. “It has been passed down throughout both the Dark Brotherhood and the Legion for many generations- it’s possible that it was altered at one time to deceive us in the future. In any case, it spoke of a blue hedgehog from another world who would one day come here and shatter our world, taking control of the evil within so he could rule over all that exists.

“But from what I can tell of your personality and memories, you’re nothing like the person the texts described. Which means that… what if…”

“‘What if’ _what??”_ Sonic asked.

“The ceremony!!” Gold was up and on her feet, a frantic expression on her face. “I overheard on the radio that you two had been spotted earlier in the town- upon your prophesised arrival, the current leader of the Dark Legion- Eclipse- is supposed to fire a tractor beam to bring the Great Comet and its eternal army! We have to stop him before he activates it, otherwise the world might be plunged into a pointless _war!_ If I can link with him telepathically, I might be able to convince him you’re not a threat!”

“How do we know you’re not trying to lead us into a trap?” Shard glared at her with heavy suspicion.

“I don’t have _time_ to try to convince you I’m telling the truth,” Gold retorted. “You two can leave if you want- we won’t be able to catch you. What you did in the village and what I saw in your memories proves that. But _I_ still need to stop Eclipse while I still can, and you’re _not_ going to stop me!” She rushed past them both and burst out of the warehouse, the doors she ran through banging together loudly from having been shoved open.

Sonic stared at the doors for a moment as they slowly lost their momentum and eventually stilled. “We should go after her,” he said.

Shard sighed. “I guess. I didn’t detect any lie in her voice, so either she really was telling the truth, or she’s an _expert_ liar. That, or her telepathy also extends to robots. But that’s _very_ unlikely.”

“Either way, we’re not gonna get any answers if we stay in this old dump,” Sonic replied. “She might need our help. She and that tractor beam might even be the reason we’re here. And whatever business the Dark Legion of this universe is involved in, it can’t be good.”

* * *

“Citizens of Onyx Village!!” In the town square stood none other than Eclipse himself, his voice ringing out and bouncing off the building’s walls, penetrating the ears of everyone else in the square. And boy, was he _ugly._ At least, that’s what Shard thought as he and Sonic crouched low on a nearby rooftop, peering over the concrete lip and watching. The Legionnaire paced back and forth upon the makeshift stage, which in addition to supporting Eclipse himself also held up a large, cylindrically shaped device with a long, thin metal nozzle sticking out the top. On both the front and the back of the device were three tubes that glowed a bright shade of yellow. It had to be the tractor beam. “The time has come to summon the Great Comet! The demon hedgehog from the prophecy of old was sighted in our village earlier today- he must _not_ be allowed to carry out his plans! He must _not_ be allowed to destroy our world as we know it! With this device-” Eclipse waved his hand towards the tractor beam. “- I will summon the Father, and with the combined forces of the Dark Legion and the Father’s army, we will ANNIHLATE the demon!!”

“That guy…” Sonic squinted his eyes as he watched Eclipse. “He almost looks like one of the Black Arms… but he couldn’t possibly be… but if he _is,_ then…”

He wasn’t able to finish this thought, as his eyes locked onto Gold, who was rushing up to the stage, almost tripping over her own robes in the process. “Wait! _Wait!_ Eclipse!!” She stumbled onto the stage, panting heavily from exhaustion. “Th-the prophecy… the hedgehog- he- he’s not a threat!”

 _“What?”_ Eclipse glared down at her with his orange-red eyes, his voice lowering into a growl.

“He’s not a threat!” Gold repeated, finally regaining her breath and straightening her stance. “I encountered him earlier- I looked into his mind, and I didn’t see a tyrant! He’s nothing like the prophecy said-”

 _“Heresy!!”_ Eclipse hissed. He whipped his head towards a pair of Legionnaires standing at the front of the massive crowd. “Take her away- I’ll deal with her later.”

“B-but I can prove it!” Gold insisted, settling into a defensive stance as the other two Legionnaires approached her. “If you’ll only let me link-”

“ENOUGH!!!” Eclipse roared.

Everyone else froze.

“We _will_ proceed as _planned!!”_

Hushed whispers began to pass around the crowd, Mobians and Overlanders alike murmuring in confliction with one another. Sonic had enough. He hurled himself over the edge of the building, despite Shard’s protests, and landed on the stage below.

“Hey, you!” Sonic pointed at Eclipse, who stared back at him in utter disbelief. Shard dropped down onto the stage beside the Mobian, his cannon humming with energy and ready to fire when needed. “Yeah, you! I don’t like your attitude, mister,” Sonic went on, eyebrows furrowed. “You won’t even bother to listen to what the people you work with have to say- that’s pretty bad leadership if ya ask me. Now, how about you _don’t_ fire that tractor beam, and I _don’t_ smash it, and we _talk_ this out like civilised people.”

Eclipse practically sneered at Sonic’s words, and pressed a button on the bracer underneath his robe sleeve. “Your tricks _won’t_ work on me, _demon!_ ”

At that same moment, Sonic leapt through the air and curled into a ball, aiming directly for the tractor beam. Shard fired a warning shot at one of the Legionnaire’s feet, making him stumble backwards off the stage and fall onto the ground. Gold punched the other Legionnaire square in the face when he tried to grab her. The several members of the crowd surged forward, hoping to intervene in the ensuing fight, while others ran off crying and shouting in terror, and some parents also hurrying away with their children in tow, covering said kids’ eyes so they couldn’t see what was transpiring. Only a few of the crowd stayed, either too entranced by or frightened from all the violence to do anything except watch.

Just as Sonic was about to smash into the tractor beam, a green coloured disk of energy swirled into existence at the other side of the courtyard, and from it emerged none other than Zonic himself.

And he did _not_ look happy.

“Sonic! _STOP!!”_ Zonic sped towards the Mobian as fast as he could. “Don’t do it, you’ll bring the-”

It was too late. A gaping, sparking hole had been torn through the machine, and the nozzle was now tilted at an odd angle. And it was still functional- a beam of yellow energy burst from the nozzle, shooting up into space. A loud boom echoed out from the distance.

The beam shut off. The fighting stopped. Sonic stared up at the sky, and then looked down at Zonic. Zonic looked right back at him, his face contorted with horror. “Sonic… no, no, no…”

Before Sonic could speak, another boom resounded from the sky. Everyone looked up to see a bright light that was definitely _not_ the sun growing closer and closer to the planet. The massive disk of white light sliced into the planet’s crust just at the edge of the town, in plain view of everyone who was either still outside or looking out their windows.

“No… the prophecy…” Gold murmured, falling onto her knees as the destruction played out before her eyes. “It’s come _true…”_

Shard’s optics widened and he released a series of startled beeps as the ground underneath them all began to tremble. The sand and the trees that happened to be where the white disc had torn through tumbled helplessly down the gap and into the magma underneath.

“Do you _realise_ what you’ve _done_ , Sonic?!” Zonic growled, his horror now morphing into rage. 

A high-pitched roar emanated from underneath the planet’s crust, and a set of dark purple claws tinged with energy that was a light shade of violet reached out from the gap and dug deep into the crust’s rock. It was at this moment that the small remainder of the crowd from earlier finally dispersed, screaming. Even Eclipse’s Legionnaires ran, leaving only him and Gold behind. And then, a massive creature rose up from the growing gap in the planet’s crust. The monster’s pitch-black eyes glared down at the few people remaining in the square. It opened its wide maw to let out another roar, this time one of intense pain.

The creature began to dissolve into a light purple mist that trailed slowly down to the earth, and then jerked violently towards Zonic. “Look out!!” Sonic zipped forward and shoved his alternate counterpart out of the way, only to be hit by the mist himself.

“Sonic!” Shard rocketed to the Mobian’s side- a mistake. The hedgehog let out something akin to a feral growl. He whipped around, his hand growing larger and sprouting talons at the fingertips. The claws slashed deep into Shard’s cheek-bolt. The former badnik let out a beep of pain and fell to the ground. He quickly crawled back, clutching his shredded cheek.

Sonic’s expression became apologetic, and then he fell to the ground with a loud cry, writhing in pain. Zonic backed away slowly, and gave Eclipse a pointed glare when he pulled out a laser pistol and aimed it at Sonic. “No.” Zonic reached out and shoved the pistol’s barrel towards the ground. “He _needs_ to live.”

“Says you!” Eclipse hissed. He struggled to pull his weapon out of Zonic’s grip.

“Says the _Zone Accords!”_ Zonic snarled back. “Now _drop_ it!”

Gold didn’t pay any mind to the two as they argued. Instead, she had grabbed Shard by the shoulder and was trying to drag him away from Sonic.

By this point, the transformation had been complete. Sonic lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious. His fur had grown considerably thick, and his quills now had white splotches on the ends. His gloves were nothing but shreds of cloth on the ground, exposing his clawed hands. His shoes had also changed as well, due to also being exposed to the same energy as the rest of Sonic’s body.

And the world?

The world was still shattered. As Zonic holstered the pistol he’d finally ripped from Eclipse’s hands, he could only wonder just how things could’ve possibly gone downhill so _quickly_.

Little did he know, the situation would turn out to be a thousand times worse than he thought.

* * *

_The Dark Legion’s Primary Mission Control…_

“I got word from Command,” Zonic announced as he re-entered the Mission Control Room. He was relieved to see Shard, Gold, and Eclipse hadn’t killed each other while he was gone. Instead, they were all sitting in their respective corners of the room, watching each other warily. “The _entire_ multiverse is in total _chaos_ \- no pun intended- thanks to Sonic’s little _stunt_ back there in the town square. Whole universes have been wiped clean from existence, others torn apart to the point of being permanently uninhabitable, and the rest scrambling like mad to figure out what even _happened_ in the first place. Apparently, because Sonic spin-dashing the tractor beam threw off its aim, it wound up bringing a destructive phenomenon from one of the adjacent multiverses instead of the rest of the Black Arm race like Eclipse had intended. We’re lucky our multiverse even _survived._ I’m afraid I can’t say the same for the multiverse it _came_ from, though.”

“And what are _we_ supposed to do _now??”_ Eclipse demanded, storming over to the metal table in the centre of the room and bringing his fist down on it, leaving a large dent in the shiny alloy. “Thanks to your oh so _special_ ‘Champion of All Realities,’ our world is in _ruins!_ _Maybe_ he didn’t intend for this to happen, but it still did!! It’s still his fault! He should be punished accordingly!!”

“If you harm Sonic in any way,” Shard growled, standing up. His digitised green eyes slowly started to change to red, as did his Power Gem, _“no one’s_ gonna stop the ‘accidental’ cannon fire that follows.”

“SHUT _UP!!_ _BOTH_ OF YOU!!” Everyone stiffened and went quiet from Zonic’s outburst. The Mobian panted for a moment, and closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them and continued in a more calm and collected tone. “We need to focus on _repairing_ the damage, not plotting to _murder_ each other. This isn’t the first time the planet Mobius of one of our Zones has shattered. I’ve seen this happen a thousand times before. I know how we can fix it. So the two of you think that _maybe_ you can keep your _tempers_ under _control_ long enough for us to fix this mess??”

Zonic could already feel a migraine coming on.

Eclipse grunted, the scowl not leaving his face for even a second. Shard gave a sharp nod of the head, and Zonic sighed with relief. Maybe, just maybe, they could actually fix this.

“Alright. Good. Good. So here’s what we’re gonna do…”

* * *

_Later…_

“Rough day, huh?” Shard plopped down beside Sonic, letting his legs dangle freely over the edge of the canyon's cliff. Sonic didn’t respond. Shard tilted his head to look over at the newly-transformed hedgehog, whose midnight blue fur was rippling softly in the wind. Sonic’s eyes were focused downward at the shattered ground below. Wisps of purple energy snaked out from between the massive cracks, the only remnant of that strange creature that _hadn’t_ been absorbed by Sonic. “Hey. Hedgehog. Knock knock!”

Sonic let out a heavy sigh, and finally met Shard’s gaze. “Hmm?” came the gruff response. “Whaddya want?”

“I…” Shard looked away, his optics trailing up past the horizon and to the sky. The stars shined faintly in the night, twinkling without a care in the world, blissfully unaware of the massive tragedy that had occurred earlier that day. The former badnik met Sonic’s eyes once more. “You didn’t know that your spin dash would cause all of this to happen.”

“But I did exactly what that prophecy said I would,” Sonic murmured, looking away and closing his eyes, his voice trembling with barely repressed emotion. “I _broke_ this world. _I_ broke it. I absorbed that _thing_ , even though I didn’t even intend to. I can’t feel the Chaos Force anymore- it feels like all the Chaos Energy in my body’s been ripped away… and… what if I turn out… what if I really do turn out to be the villain that prophecy says I’m supposed to be?? I mean- _look_ at me. I’m a _monster.”_

Shard sighed, and shuffled closer to Sonic. He lifted his hand and settled it on the fluffy hedgehog’s shoulders. His optics widened at the sensory overload as his fingers tangled in Sonic’s thick fur coat. He tried to maintain focus, however. Sonic needed comfort right now, not for Shard to get all googly-eyed just because his fluff was so darn soft and probably _very_ cuddly-

Aaaannd then Shard purged _that_ particular string of code in an instant. “Sonic, you’re not a monster.”

“Yes I am. How can you even _think_ \- I-I _attacked_ you!! I-I’m not the hero I’m _supposed_ to be- I- so many of my friends are _dead_ , _Naugus_ of all people is ruling over New Mobotropolis, I couldn’t stop Sally from being roboticised, and now _this!!_ It’s my _fault._ _All_ of it.”

“You’re _not_ a monster, and as for my face, I’ll live,” Shard insisted, his voice firm. “Sonic, we’re fighting a war. You can’t save everyone in a war. And mistakes always get made- that’s just a fact. It’s what we do about those mistakes that really matters. You may not have known this back when I was ready to give my own life for you and Tails, but- Sonic. You _saved_ me.”

Sonic jerked his head upright, opening his eyes and staring at the robot in surprise. “What?? _I_ saved _you???”_

“Well… yeah. _You_ saved me from a pointless existence. _You_ taught me the value of life,” Shard explained, squeezing Sonic’s shoulder gently. “That’s what sets you apart from the bad guys, Sonic. _You_ value life. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be beating yourself up about all this right now.”

Sonic processed the bot’s words for a long, quiet moment. And then there it was- it was faint, but it was there. A smile. “Thanks… I… I really needed that.” He chuckled, and went on, “Maybe you’re not so bad after all.” 

Shard looked down, that series of lime-green lines appearing on his optical screen once again. “Just so you know, for the record- I still hate you. Now c’mon, True Blue. Let’s head back inside. Zonic’s got a plan to fix the planet, and you’re gonna do what you do _best_ \- help us save the world!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, yeah. A lot happens in this chapter. Sorry if not a lot of it makes sense right now- I'll try to develop the Mobius of this Zone further from here, so that way hopefully everything that transpired in this chapter will make sense. Also, I love world-building, so that's a plus. 
> 
> Also, yes, this fic is pretty much inspired by a certain series of events in the actual Archie Comics, as well as TheEnigmaMachine and TheClarityOgranism's fic "To Fear a Werehog" (which you guys should totally read RIGHT NOW).
> 
> Constructive criticism is always appreciated, FLAMES are NOT.


	4. Square Root of a Negative Number

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I want to apologise if a certain tiny robot's dialogue is a bit of an eyesore- turns out that words translated into binary code tend to be... well, a bit harsh on the eyes, to say the least. Thankfully, it's just for a short part of the chapter, so you won't get permanent eye damage. Hopefully.

_At the Communications Tower…_

Eclipse paced up and down the small room, muttering under his breath. In just a day, his whole world was literally shattered. And it was all because of a blue hedgehog from another world who was ridiculously impulsive and, well, just a plain _idiot_. He could see now, though, why Gold had tried to stop him from firing the tractor beam. The hedgehog, in terms of personality, was very different from what had been described in the texts of the Dark Brotherhood.

It still didn’t change the fact that Sonic still fulfilled at least part of the prophecy, and broke the planet apart. It still didn’t excuse what he had done.

The Darkling sighed tiredly and stopped pacing, instead now choosing to flop into a nearby chair. At this point, it didn’t even matter if Sonic intended for this to happen or not. What mattered was putting it back together. They could figure out everything else once that was done.

If Zonic didn’t get in the way, that is. The only reason _he_ wasn’t being pummeled into the earth and fed piece by piece to Eclipse’s offspring was because he was right about one thing- repairing the planet should be their top priority for the moment. _That_ , and he was also _away_ at the moment, helping out in the relief efforts for the other Zones.

The whole plan hinged on Sonic’s _involvement_ , naturally.

Eclipse was less than pleased about this. That was putting it lightly. Very, _very_ lightly.

“Grandmaster Eclipse?” Gold’s voice trembled. Eclipse lifted his head, blinking as his eyes met that of the young tenrec’s. When had she even come in??

“What is it?” Eclipse asked, sitting up straighter.

“I… I should not have questioned our beliefs the way I did,” Gold said softly, her gaze flicking away from the Darkling and instead locking onto the wall behind him. “It’s because of me that all this has happened… I will accept without argument whatever punishment you think is appropriate.”

“…” Eclipse blinked again, processing her words. Gold apparently thought herself responsible for their planet having been shattered. But she was still just a teenager. A naïve teenager who, unfortunately, wanted to see the best in everyone. Even those who were supposed to be the Legion’s sworn enemy. Besides, she wasn’t the one who threw the tractor beam’s aim off- it was all Sonic’s doing. Gold was just trying to do what she thought was right, and now here she was, blaming herself for something she was not responsible for.

“No,” Eclipse finally spoke. “No, I will not punish you. Your continued service to the Legion will be sufficient enough.”

“B-but-”

“We will speak of this matter no longer. Repairing the damage to our world should be our main focus for the time being. If you still wish to do so, we will discuss this _after_ our planet is restored.”

That seemed to get through to the tenrec.

“A-alright!” Gold nodded vigorously.

“Now tell me- how are things going with the _rodent_ and Professor Von Schlemmer?” Eclipse asked.

“Oh- uhh, _well…”_

* * *

“A little faster, _ja?”_

Shard, who was currently sitting on one of the many chairs in Von Schlemmer’s lab, couldn’t believe the absolute _mess_ of the place. Crumpled sheets of paper and blueprints all over the floor, pens and pencils sprinkled here and there, tools completely disorganized- even _Robotnik_ wasn’t ever _this_ bad with his tools and other junk. The only things in the room that didn’t have stuff all over them were the chairs and the small treadmill that Schlemmer was currently having Sonic jog on.

“01001000 01101001 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101!”

“…” Shard looked down away from Sonic and Schlemmer for the moment, and spotted a small, bright yellow thing crawling its way towards him. “Uhhh… hi?” The little yellow thing stuck its head up, and now Shard could clearly see what it was. It was a tiny little robotic hedgehog that, eerily enough, resembled him in terms of its model. On its head was a long antennae-like thing with a big pink ball at the end. And Shard had to admit… the little guy was pretty darn adorable. He reached his hand down and held out his palm to the tiny robot. “C’mon, I won’t hurt you.”

The little bot smiled, beeping happily. It clambered into Shard’s palm, and sat there patiently as the former badnik carefully lifted him up to eye-level.

“01010111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100111 01110011 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01101110 01100001 01101101 01100101?”

“My name? Oh- well, uhh- I’m Shard. And you are?”

“01001001 00100111 01101101 00100000 01000010 01101001 01110100 00100000 00100011 00110000 00110000 00110000 00110001 00101100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100110 01101001 01110010 01110011 01110100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01101101 01111001 00100000 01101011 01101001 01101110 01100100!” the little robot, Bit # 0001, declared proudly. “01010011 01101111 01110010 01110010 01111001 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101110 00100111 01110100 00100000 01101001 01101110 01110100 01110010 01101111 01100100 01110101 01100011 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101101 01111001 00100000 01100010 01110010 01101111 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 01110011 00100000 01110010 01101001 01100111 01101000 01110100 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110111 00101101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 01111001 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100010 01100001 01100011 01101011 00100000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01000100 01100001 01100100 01100100 01111001 00100111 01110011 00100000 01101000 01101111 01110101 01110011 01100101 00100000 01110010 01101001 01100111 01101000 01110100 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110111.”

“Bit # 0001,” Von Schlemmer called. “Help me vith zhis power gauge- I zhink it’s a little off again!”

Bit # 0001 beeped in exasperation. “01001000 01101101 01110000 01101000 00101101 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100111 01110011 00100000 01100001 01101100 01110111 01100001 01111001 01110011 00100000 01110011 01101111 01101101 01100101 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111!”

Shard chuckled in amusement at the little bot’s annoyed reaction and then got up onto his feet. He walked over to the professor and gently set Bit # 0001 down on the computer console that Schlemmer was currently scrutinising. Bit # 0001 beeped gratefully in response, most likely happy that he didn’t have to crawl through mountains of paper and other miscellaneous items just to check up on a power gauge.

The former badnik then made his way over to where Sonic was. Despite the fact that it was clear by now the Mobian had lost his speed, he was still pretty fast and had a great deal of stamina. It didn’t even look like he was breaking a sweat. At least not yet, anyway.

“How’s it hangin’ True Blue?” Shard asked, leaning against the treadmill’s console.

“Could be better,” Sonic answered, not taking his eyes off the treadmill’s speed gauge. “Uhh, what’s this for again, anyway?”

“The doc wants to see exactly how much of Dark Gaia’s energy you absorbed,” Shard explained, “so that way he can approximate how much is left in Mobius’ core. Apparently, due to that energy wave that shattered the planet, Dark Gaia, and its counterpart Light Gaia, both woke up prematurely. The world wasn’t supposed to break apart for another two thousand years. Because of this, we don’t know _where_ Light Gaia even is, and the remaining energy still in the planet's core will spread and infect a good chunk of this Mobius’ population.”

“Greaaat,” Sonic drawled out sarcastically. “Just great! So not only am I responsible for literally breaking the planet, but I also infected a whole bunch of people in the process. Wonderful. Can this whole messed-up situation get _any_ worse??” Before Shard could respond, the Mobian added, “Please don’t answer that.”

 _“_ _Sieg_ _!”_ Von Schlemmer’s shout drew the attention of both Shard and Sonic- causing the latter to almost trip over his own shoes while running. “I heff zhe data I need! Now I just need to calculate…” The professor hummed to himself as his fingers flew across the keyboard in front of him. Bit # 0001 chirped, his yellow eyes glued to the screen as Schlemmer made his calculations. “Aha! I heff it! I know zhe exact percentage!” The redhead scientist hit the “Stop” button on the keyboard, deactivating the treadmill. Sonic, who wasn’t expecting this, lost his balance and fell forward, smacking his face into the treadmill’s control console.

“OWW!!” The Mobian lay sprawled across the exercise machine, groaning as Shard knelt down to grab his arm and help him up. “Was that _really_ necessary??”

Von Schlemmer ignored him, too absorbed in his accomplishment. “If my calculations are _correct_ \- and zhey definitely are, because _I_ made zhem- I vould say zhat Sonic had absorbed about seventy-eight percent of Dark Gaia’s energy! Zhis means zhat zhere was twenty-two percent left in zhe planet’s core vhen it vas first shattered, vhich in turn means zhat by now about five percent of zhe planet has been infected vith some of zhe energy. I believe it vill take only a few days or so for zhe remainder of zhe energy to leave zhe core and infect more people.”

“So how would this affect us in trying to put the planet back together, exactly?” Sonic asked as Shard supported him while the Mobian clambered off the treadmill. “And please- you don’t have to explain _everything,_ just give us the _gist-”_

“Great- I vill explain _everyzhing!”_

Sonic groaned, and Shard snickered. The two hedgehogs settled down on the floor, Sonic wincing as one of the crumpled sheets of paper poked his leg. And then Schlemmer began his lengthy scientific explanation that Sonic really wanted to tune out, but couldn’t.

The guy was just so darn _loud._

“Zhe energy of Dark Gaia is unusual, to say zhe least- vhen scattered, it can’t do much, aside from making zhose vithin a certain proximity very sick. Zhis is because zhe energy functions like a virus- vhen it comes into contact vith a lifeform, it attaches itself via zhe microscopic hooks on each particle of energy. Zhen, it breaks zhrough zhe layers of skin and enters zhe body! It infects your cells, modifies your DNA, _yada yada_ \- however, it does not appear to be contagious. Vhich is a very good zhing, obviously. Now, zhere is another interesting fact about zhese particles- each particle is interconnected vith one another! Zhey can share data and communicate over long distances. Zhat is vhy vhen zhe planet first shattered, it appeared as a giant creature. But it vas unable to sustain its own veight, and zhus, it dissolved and zhe particles separated. It is because of zhis separation zhat zhe planet must be restored in zhe next few days- less zhan five vould be zhe most optimal time.”

“What happens if it’s not put back together in five days?” Shard asked. He had a suspicion as to why this would be the case, but he wanted to confirm to be sure. He was built primarily for combat, not scientific analysis.

“Zhen zhere will be no hope of returning zhe Dark Gaia energy back to the zhe planet’s core, and everyone who is infected vill eventually die,” Schlemmer answered, his enthusiasm dying down a bit. “Zhe particles only keep zhe data zhat zhey need in order to survive. Zhat means zhat once all zhe energy has left zhe core, zhe previous locational data stored in zhe particle’s memory will be lost. For good. Ve vould no longer be able to use zhat locational data to command zhe particles to return to zhe planet’s core.”

“So then… what’re we supposed to do?” Sonic’s voice was weighed down with guilt. Turns out the situation _could_ get worse. A _lot_ worse. And it was his fault.

“Ah- yes! Zhe solution! Give me a moment! I’ll be right back!” Schlemmer stumbled through his mess of a lab to the other side of the room, where a small metal door was installed in the wall. He pressed a button on the wall next to it, and the door slid open. He stepped through, muttering loudly to himself as he started rummaging through the room’s contents.

Meanwhile, Shard and Sonic remained sitting on the floor side by side, quiet. It was Shard who broke the silence. “Hey… so uhmm… you wanna hear a funny joke?”

Sonic whipped his head up, looking at the former badnik with a hilariously absurd expression. “A… a joke??... sure, yeah. I guess.”

“You want to know what’s even less real than a ghost?”

Sonic raised an eyebrow. “… Uhh, yes?… I think?”

“The square root of all negative numbers,” Shard answered. Sonic stared blankly. “… get it? Because, y’know, trying to find the square root of a negative number with a calculator results in a non-real calculation?”

Sonic snorted from both disbelief and slight amusement. “Okay, uhh, we’re gonna have to work on your jokes at some point.”

“C’mon, it was _funny_ and you _know_ it,” Shard told the Mobian, giving him a playful elbow in the shoulder. “You just have a terrible sense of humour. _That’s_ what we need to work on. _Your_ sense of humour.”

Sonic rolled his eyes- he wasn’t even going to bother debating on whose sense of humour was worse right now. Thankfully, he was saved from having to respond since Von Schlemmer came stumbling back into the room, an old parchment in his grasp. He moved to one of the large metal tables in the lab, and with a few swipes of his hand, had cleared away the mess of tools and other equipment that had been sitting there. And in turn, making an even bigger mess on the floor, not that it mattered since the lab was already a disaster to begin with.

 _“_ _Komm her!_ _”_ Schlemmer called. In a few moments, the two hedgehogs were standing at the other side of the table, looking down at the yellowed paper spread across it. The scientist grinned, his enthusiasm returning tenfold. “Now, how many continents does zhe planet Mobius heff?”

“Seven,” Sonic and Shard answered simultaneously. Shard looked over at Sonic and gave him an approving smile.

“Correct!” Schlemmer declared. “And, on each of zhese continents, zhere is an ancient temple known as zhe Temple of Gaia!”

“Seven continents… seven temples…” Sonic looked up at Von Schlemmer as a look of realisation came over his face. “The Chaos Emeralds! They exist in this reality, right?”

“Zhat is also correct, my fuzzy friend! Now, your friends, Zonic, and I all discussed zhis earlier vhile you vere outside. Zhe plan is to collect all seven Chaos Emeralds, find Light Gaia so ve can access zhe Temples of Gaia, and zhen use zhe Temples to return both Light Gaia and Dark Gaia back to zhe planet’s core, and zhereby restoring zhe planet to normal!”

“Aaaand nobody could tell me all this beforehand _why??”_ Sonic asked incredulously.

“Well, Zonic did leave without saying goodbye,” Shard explained. “And Eclipse and Gold left for the Communications Tower on the other side of the city.” He smirked and added, “Besides, it was pretty fun to watch you _squirm_ when the doc went all out _science-y_ on you.”

Sonic pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, shaking his head. Of _course_. 

“Okay. So when do we leave?”

“Right now, actually,” a voice from the other side of the room declared. Everyone turned to see the source was none other than Eclipse himself. “We already know where two of the Chaos Emeralds are- it only stands to reason that we leave now so we can get all of them as fast as possible. Meet me back at Primary Mission Control. We have some things to discuss before we get started.”

And with that having been said, the Darkling stormed out of the lab.

“… is he still mad about zhe time I accidentally crushed part of his house vith my prototype quantum accelerator?” Schlemmer asked, looking at Sonic and Shard.

“Pretty sure it’s me and _not_ you he’s mad at right now,” Sonic muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I based part of this chapter on a scene from TheEnigmaMachine's "Iron Oxide", which you all should also check out! I adore the way she wrote Von Schlemmer in that story, so I tried to make my version of him similar to hers. 
> 
> Also, when I read on the Sonic News Network wiki that Schlemmer's robots The Bits were based off of Shard, I almost cried. That, and the fact that they're so tiny and precious is why I included one in this chapter. In addition, since I don't really like calling Bit # 0001, well, Bit # 0001, I was thinking that maybe some of you- if you want to, that is- can suggest some names for him in the comments section below, as well as names for the other two Bits (which isn't necessarily required, but I'd appreciate it if you did). 
> 
> Anyways, hopefully this chapter wasn't too cringeworthy. See you all next time! <3


	5. Interlude: Reflections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little interlude set during chapter 3 to cover some important stuff in regards to the plot. Also, I made some minor revisions to the previous chapters. Just some changes in dialogue and stuff, nothing really important that you need to worry about. That I can remember, anyway.
> 
> Also, kudos to you if you can figure out what the title of this interlude is a reference to. <3

_Earlier…_

As Shard walked down the empty corridor, he quickly came to realise that he did _not_ like Zonic one bit. He knew the guy had the best interests of this Mobius in mind, but that _still_ didn’t change how the former badnik felt about him. That still didn’t change that Zonic had told them all to withhold important information from Sonic.

_< Accessing memory file # 90034775… downloading…>__

_< Does this unit wish to proceed with playback of memory file # 90034775? Confirm yes or no.>__

_< Yes/No.>__

_< **Yes** /No.>__

_< Confirmed… beginning playback now.>__

_“… and so the planet will be put back together again. Of course, for each version of Mobius, the procedure will… vary sometimes. Especially considering this rather_ unusual _case. That’s why, before I came back in to talk to you guys about this, I contacted one of the local scientists here, Professor Von Schlemmer.”_

_Just as Zonic finished speaking, Von Schlemmer himself came stumbling through the door, a huge mess of papers in his arms._

_“Schöne Grüße!” Schlemmer greeted, several papers fluttering out of his arms and onto the floor. “I am Professor Dinglehoper Von Schlemmer, head scientist of zhe Onyx Center for Advanced Research and Technological Achievement!! I am also zhe only leading scientist here on Mobius zhat’s investigating zhe ancient deity known as Dark Gaia! Today, mein friends, is a great day for_ science!!”

 _Shard stared at the scientist, trying to comprehend what he had just heard._ Dinglehoper? _the robot thought with a cringe._ Geez, his parents have a pretty cruel sense of humour. Yikes. _He beeped loudly to draw everyone else’s attention. Looking directly at Zonic, the robot asked, “Shouldn’t we be discussing all this with Sonic?? Especially with the whole ‘entire universes being destroyed’ thing and-”_

“No,” _Zonic interrupted. “I think it’s best if Sonic doesn’t know about_ that _part, at least for right now.”_

 _“Excuse me?” Shard hissed, optics narrowing in suspicion. This was not right. Sonic_ should _know about this. What could they possibly gain from hiding the truth?? “May I ask_ why?”

_“Sonic’s behaviour over the past several months has become increasingly erratic,” Zonic explained, his expression and voice unwavering. “This is due to his recent experiences, what with Antoine D’Coolette being put into a coma, Naugus taking control of New Mobotropolis, and Sally Acorn sacrificing herself to stop the World Roboticiser. All these things, in addition to the shattering of this world, have gradually been pushing Sonic to what could be a psychological breakdown. Informing him about his destruction of multiple universes could be the tipping point for him. And if he reaches that tipping point, then all that remains of our multiverse could be doomed.”_

_“You do realise that the next time he pays a visit to the Cosmic Interstate, he’s gonna notice something’s wrong, right?” Shard growled, his pupils and Power Gem seemingly stuck between being half-green and half-red. “So what’re you gonna tell him when that happens, huh?!”_

_“We’ll make sure that he never finds out, for the good of the multiverse,” Zonic answered impassively._

_Eclipse cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him. “That hedgehog is responsible for not only shattering our world, but also the destruction of_ multiple _realities!! They may not be my home, but they still_ matter. _The people who used to live there- the people who_ died _there… they still_ matter!!! _Are you truly so_ stone-cold _as to let that_ demon _walk away from this with absolutely_ no _repercussions?! I should_ feed _you to the-!”_

_Another argument between Zonic and Eclipse erupted. Shard tuned them out, and headed towards the door. No one seemed to notice or care that he was leaving the room, so he stepped through into the hall, uninterrupted._

_< End of memory file # 90034775…>__

Shard wished he had never gotten involved. He wished that the director had never sent him and the rest of the Secret Freedom Fighters to find the generator. He wished that they had never even gotten _wind_ of that generator. He wished Eggman hadn’t even _built_ the cursed machine in the first place. Then _maybe_ none of this would’ve happened.

Shard smacked into a door and let out a sharp beep of pain. He had gotten so absorbed in his own code that he hadn’t realised he’d reached the exit of the Dark Legion base. Sighing tiredly, Shard pressed a button next to the door. It slid open, and he stepped outside. It was now nighttime, apparently. The stars were faint, but still visible. And crickets were making their little _cricket-ing_ noises. And Sonic? At the edge of the cliff exactly twelve feet away sat the Mobian himself, his back hunched in what was undoubtedly an uncomfortable position.

Shard slowly approached him, bunches of code rushing around his neural net several thousand clock cycles faster than normal. He should tell him. He should tell him the truth.

And then what?

Was potentially sending Sonic plummeting into a psychological breakdown really the best idea? Did Shard really want to do that to him? And what did Sonic really need? The truth… or…? It was all too confusing. The rational side of him said that it was best not to say a word. But the not-so-rational side…

Maybe just wait for the right time? Except there would _never_ be a _right time_.

Sonic was responsible for the deaths of trillions upon trillions of lives, _both_ innocent and not. There was no plausible way he would be able to take that without…

“Rough day, huh?” Shard asked as he sat down beside Sonic. He wouldn’t say a word about it. Not right now. Shard instantly loathed this decision, and wanted to go against it as soon it had been made, but doing so would inevitably lead to disaster.

That was something they could _not_ afford.

And this, along with the apparent lack of alternative options, only made Shard feel more horrible than he had ever felt in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Eclipse is a bad guy in the Post-Genesis Wave Timeline, but who says he couldn't have been a good guy in the Pre-Genesis Wave version? And this is an alternate version of Mobius being depicted here, not to mention there are many versions of Sonic *cough cough* like Scrouge *cough cough* who likely (or in Scourge's case, definitely) have drastically different personalities from the Sonic of Mobius Prime.
> 
> I still want to make Eclipse antagonistic towards Sonic (besides, he's got every right to be p****ed at this point), and who knows? Maybe I'll even write spin-off of this and have Eclipse meet Shadow *cough* and have some vicious sibling rivalry occur *cough, cough*. 
> 
> Maybe.


End file.
